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Boo
Hoo Willamette Repertory Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol provides an alternative to the entrenched Actors Cabaret of Eugene version, boasting a renowned starring actor and a bit of holiday technical magic. Even with all the requisite ingredients, however, the result is a surprisingly listless adaptation.
From the outset, the show offers the promise of fun, with an inventive multi-tiered set designed by Norm Spencer. Despite the odd choice to employ a cumbersome lift for a flying sequence, the set complements the well-crafted puppetry and visual effects developed for the supernatural characters. The earnest cast includes standout performances from Frank Muhr as kindhearted Bob Cratchit and Janet Steiger Carr as his frustrated wife. Carr delivers her lines in a conspiratorial drawl, recalling the novella's Victorian pulp origins. Richard Leebrick's expansive style is a natural fit for the Ghost of Christmas Present, but his portrayal of the magnanimous Fezziwig feels subdued, hampered by script strictures. Veteran Scrooge actor Philip Davidson, who has played the curmudgeonly protagonist in six Carol productions, is convincing both in his early misanthropy and his later conversion. This adaptation incorporates much of Dickens' lovely original text, narrated by alternating cast members. Each actor, save Scrooge himself, plays multiple characters, with mixed results. Sometimes the fluid casting works, as when one Cratchit child breaks character to deliver a line as Scrooge's nephew. Other times it stumbles, as when a single actress portrays both Scrooge's sister and then his fiancée in quick succession. The real problem with the show is David McCann's adapted script, which never quite sells all the goodwill and merriment. Storyline vignettes that usually provide relief from the doom and gloom, such as the Fezziwig party, are relegated to a couple of lines. Scrooge's turnabout is believable, but the vehicle that gets us there — mechanical visits by a passel of ghosts — leaves a feeling of "Bah, humbug," with few stops along the way for holiday cheer. For all its faults, the show has a lot going for it. The spooks aren't too spooky for the little ones, making this an ideal version for kids newly discovering the story. Kirk Boyd, Carol director and Rep artistic director, has stated that if theatergoers embrace it, this version may become a Eugene holiday mainstay. With the 2006 season to work out the kinks and find a little heart, Willamette Rep's production holds great promise.
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